Before fire season, move combustibles away from your house. Fences and dry vegetation give fires a place to grow, says Jonathan Cox at Cal Fire, California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Hosing down your house won’t help much, either, he says: “The way a lot of these homes burn is through something called ember cast, when embers from the fire fly over and drop little fires everywhere. With a huge ember cast, hosing down your house doesn’t do much.”
Hall, in his late fifties, is barrel-chested and talkative. He studied business and computers at the Florida Institute of Technology and went on to specialize in networks and data centers for Northrop Grumman, Harris Corporation, and other defense contractors. He now goes back and forth between the Kansas silo and a home in the Denver suburbs, where his wife, a paralegal, lives with their twelve-year-old son.
Of course, this observation ignores one important fact: compared to EU countries, the United States suffers from a markedly elevated (but rapidly falling) rate of homicide. About two thirds of them are committed with guns - but lest we jump to conclusions, the non-firearm-related murder rate alone puts America well ahead of most of Europe, suggesting that the cause may have more to do with societal differences than with the availability of a particular tool. A finding that supports this theory is the fact that upward of 80% of US gun homicides trace back to gang activity and drug trade, often within the disadvantaged or impoverished strata of the society that are far less prominent on the old continent. Another telling observation is that comparisons of overall murder rates across US states or across EU countries with vastly different firearms ownership profiles don't reveal a convincing correlation between the two variables - something you would expect to see if legally owned guns had a causative relationship with violent crime.
We keep getting away with all that goofiness, and that only serves to make us more certain that our own transgressions carry no serious risks. But government statistics tell a strikingly different tale: in the US alone, unintentional injuries result in 40 million ER visits and 100,000 deaths every year. Heck, accidental injury is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 45 - far ahead of cancer, heart disease, gun violence, and other pop culture bogeymen. And the injuries themselves are very prosaic, too: all you see are falls, cuts, burns, vehicular collisions, poisonings, and so forth. The "idiots" we sometimes watch on Youtube are us. They just happen to have been caught on camera on the day their luck ran out, perhaps aided by downing a couple of beers.
As public institutions deteriorate, élite anxiety has emerged as a gauge of our national predicament. “Why do people who are envied for being so powerful appear to be so afraid?” Johnson asked. “What does that really tell us about our system?” He added, “It’s a very odd thing. You’re basically seeing that the people who’ve been the best at reading the tea leaves—the ones with the most resources, because that’s how they made their money—are now the ones most preparing to pull the rip cord and jump out of the plane.”
Welcome to CampingSurvival.com, proudly owned by JHL Supply, a veteran-owned, family-run business, established in 1956 in Upstate New York. We are your source for camping supplies, survival gear and survival food, regardless of your level of expertise or experience. So whether you are an emergency preparedness-minded individual interested in MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) and colloidal silver, a hardcore hiker in need of paracord, a water filter system and fire starter, or just need a basic first aid kit or emergency kit for the family, you've come to the right place. As you look around CampingSurvival.com's camping and survival equipment, you'll find that we provide a lot of insight and suggestions to supply and prepare you, so you're always ready for any disaster. However, if you have any questions, we encourage you to contact us, as we will be more than happy to answer them.
Canned goods are going to be your best friend when it comes to getting vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables perish rapidly in a survival situation, but can last for up to two years in cans. Buying store/generic brands products helps you save more money. When purchasing canned goods, you need to use them on rotation. This means you keep a log of the use-by date and use them before that point. When you use them, replace them with more supplies to keep your stocks replenished.
If you need some inspiration, perhaps the most iconic and time-tested semi-auto design is the 1911; it was originally a pretty bulky and heavy all-steel firearm, but many manufacturers now make lighter, scaled-down variants that are OK for carrying around. Alternatives include a growing number of more lightweight, polymer-frame guns, such as Glock 43, M&P Shield, or SIG P365. For revolvers, Ruger LCR and Smith & Wesson 642 are probably two very reasonable picks to haul around. Some very futuristic if a tad more expensive revolvers are made by Chiappa, too. Whatever you do, avoid Taurus.

Don’t let prepping overwhelm you because there are many companies wanting you to buy their product. And I agree with pat Henry, things are not as bad as what many think. I have been listening to doomsday talkers since 2011 about the imminent collapse around the corner and there will always be people saying this. So don’t rush to spend thousands of dollars. Do a little at a time and stay within your means. This is a good article because it gives you general categories such as a means to purify water, then food, then medicine, then security and also… Read more »

In many states, even with an uncontested will, it may take many months for the probate process to be wrapped up. If you are the sole provider for your family, make sure that they will have the means to survive in the meantime. The right kind of a shared bank account ("joint tenancy with right of survivorship") can do the trick. There are several other approaches to this problem, too, but they tend to be more dicey from the legal perspective - or more costly and more time-consuming to set up.
"Disperse!" came the command from the helicopter hovering above us. Every exit point seemed blocked by clouds of tear gas or the loud kapow! of flash-bangs. Every explosion startled me; I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. Rubber bullets were being shot at us from every direction by cops dressed in SWAT gear, as if this was a war, not a protest. Someone next to me fell to the ground grabbing his face. I saw he was bleeding and scared, and I dropped next to him, telling him he was going to be OK, that I was a medic. It was my first time treating a wound in the street during a fray. Looking down at my hands and seeing a stranger's blood on my gloves chilled me, but there wasn't time to feel anything. My legs moved on autopilot, going from person to person to check on them. "Do you need a medic?" I found myself shouting over the noise every time I heard a scream.

Gale, you’re right about the bug eggs. I know it’s a little skeevy to think about but *nearly all* grain products (whole wheat berries, biscuit mix, pasta, cornmeal, anything) already have bug eggs in them. That’s what the dry ice is for; it helps stave off rancidity and it also prevents (ew) hatching! Or you can freeze the items for a week and then store long-term, but that’s a lot more trouble than it sounds like and doesn’t help prolong shelf life.

Also, include a good supply of the spices you like to cook with. These flavorings and spices allow you to do many creative things with your grains and beans. Without them you are severely limited. One of the best suggestions I can give you is buy a good food storage cookbook. Go through it and see what your family would really eat. Notice the ingredients as you do it. This will help you more than anything else to know what items to store.
I called a Silicon Valley sage, Stewart Brand, the author and entrepreneur whom Steve Jobs credited as an inspiration. In the sixties and seventies, Brand’s “Whole Earth Catalog” attracted a cult following, with its mixture of hippie and techie advice. (The motto: “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.”) Brand told me that he explored survivalism in the seventies, but not for long. “Generally, I find the idea that ‘Oh, my God, the world’s all going to fall apart’ strange,” he said.
Don’t forget a small stash of your favorite comfort foods to store in the buckets also. Like candy, chocolate, coffee, fruit drink mixes (to make OLD water taste better). I also store the left over fast food restaurants tiny packets of (salt, pepper, ketchup, salsa, taco sauces & other tiny things like–shampoos, soaps, etc.) for bartering in the event of a SHTF scenario. Keep it high up or under lock & key from your ever hungry children. Lol
As for cars: there is no hope. Don't leave anything of substantial value in the vehicle, and if the car itself is expensive, have it insured against theft (setting your deductible to $1,000 or more keep the premiums low). Avoid tempting the thieves in any way: countless car windows have been smashed over a $5 bill and some coins left in the cup holder. Put spare change somewhere else.
Water should be able to be stored indefinitely provided it is not contaminated in any way. The problem with storing water in a car is the heat or cold. In the summer time, your water could bake. In really hot environments, if your water is stored in plastic, chemicals in the plastic can leech into your water. There could be some debate about what is the greater harm, chemicals or death by dehydration, but it is something to consider. In the same way, water in the winter can freeze, but as long as it isn’t getting contaminated from any other… Read more »
For those who are worried about less likely, longer-term contingencies - or who want to limit their future grocery expenses in case of a financial shortfall - a more varied stockpile to cover 3-4 months is a reasonable choice. At that timescale, it's still smart to begin with some number of hassle-free survival rations, but it is important complement them with a more palatable menu: freeze-dried or canned meals, MREs, or cheap home-made food. Crisco aside, some of the nutritious and easily stored staples include Mylar-bagged, oxygen-scavenged white rice, white flour, dried beans and grains, instant mashed potatoes and oatmeal, pasta, sugar, honey, powdered milk, salt, spices, and so forth; when stored properly, all of them can last 5 years or more. Freeze-dried or garden-grown fruit and veggies can add some flavor to your post-disaster cooking, too. Heck, you can even buy supposedly tasty butter, chicken breast, canned bacon, and bread-like crackers with 10+ year shelf life (although they are not cheap).
Pat I felt the same way you did about becoming a prepper. One day something inside of me said ok look, it’s time to start making a list and to get going on this endeavor. I started with the basics. I have been prepping for about a year + and have collected quite a lot of supplies. I educated myself in ways to store food. I am a You Tube watching fool, always looking at videos on how to do this or that. I’d like to know how to meet others who are prepping as well. I don’t really know… Read more »
Mylar bags are a great way to store food. Many store bought food buckets and containers have the food inside portioned off in mylar bags. You can also buy prepackaged food in them individually at many stores. You can buy the mylar bags themselves individually or in bulk with built in ziplock seals or without. Both bags can be closed by heat sealing them with special tools, irons, or hair straighteners. Sealing the ziplock mylar bags with heat is additional protection for your food and a good practice. It never hurts to have multiple seals on your storage containers. Oxygen absorbers are often used in mylar bags, and some people even vacuum pack them by putting a straw down the side. When the bag gets vacuum packed, the straw allows the air to escape and then it can be pulled out and sealed. You can find some great deals online for mylar bags, and many of them include oxygen absorbers:

In trying times, people always come together and find strength in local communities. Even if you don't expect it, you will almost certainly be able to count on the kindness of strangers. But your odds can be greatly improved by getting to know your neighbors ahead of the time, by cultivating trust and mutual respect, and by getting a sense of each others' toolkits and skills. In a grim situation, being on good terms with a doctor or a veterinarian can quite literally save your life. And heck, some rural communities in the US even maintain communal stashes of emergency supplies!

This is the mainstay of what I have except for a couple of items I am missing. Be careful with the pancake mix as it has a short shelf life and make sure to rotate it often. This article has helped a lot. I was worried I did not have enough but have a much larger quantity and feel so much better. I also have variety of other items mixed in and this goes way beyond my every day pantry. With 70 lbs of rice and 15 of beans and 10 of oats as a basis. Working on the beans, I have about 24 cans of meat. A ton of cans of veggies and fruit and cases soup in cans, mixes, cubes etc. I have 15 lbs of matzoh and 5 of crackers. I have about 8 cases of ramen noodles. I have bread mixes, cake mixes, honey, tea, coffee, powdered milk, spices, at least 10 lbs of salt. I have sugar at least 25 lbs but I think more. I have flour. I have at least a dozen pasta and sauces. I have 8 giant sized jars of peanut butter and rotate them out, five giant cans of drink mix(tang and iced tea) This is all besides my regular pantry that would easily last a month and I rotate my groceries from this so they do not expire. I have 200 gallons of drinkable water plus filtration and tablets and bleach for much more. I have all this but still I have the urgent feeling that it is never enough and when I grocery shop am always trying to add one or two items. I know I have six months of survival for 3 adults but thinking maybe it is more.
You'll find staples like powdered butter, freeze-dried meats, cereals, grains, pasta, fruits and vegetables, and baking ingredients. They also offer a great selection of entrees, including popular Mountain House meals like turkey tetrazzini, rice pilaf, and sweet and sour pork. Many of these are included in their emergency kits that will keep you fed for days or months at a time.
At the same time, it's not entirely crazy to worry that in some circumstances, the response may not come quickly enough; heck, the Department of Homeland Security says that for the first 72 hours after a disaster, you may be on your own and should have enough supplies to survive. The odds of ending up in a real pickle may be modest, but the stakes are extremely high - and compared to the complexity of preparing to some other contingencies, the cost of stockpiling some drinking water is practically nil. If nothing else, when a calamity strikes, you would have one less thing to worry about.

In the end, ladders, cars, and space heaters are a much greater threat to your well-being than a gun-totting robber or an army of zombie marauders could ever be. So, gleaned from accident statistics, here are some of the familiar-sounding but crucial survival tips. It may sound unlikely, but if something appears on this list, it's responsible for quite a few gruesome deaths or injuries every year; take it to heart.

Follow three New York preppers as they plan their bug-out to escape from a variety of disasters: Cameron Moore, a student is planning to escape a meltdown from a nearby nuclear plant. Margaret Ling is planning to escape in case another hurricane struck her city, having recalled the events of Hurricane Sandy. Last but not least, Jay, remembering the September 11 attacks is planning to escape from another terrorist attack on the city with his family.

For Mike Mester, civil unrest is just around the corner and he aims to get everyone ready; Colorado computer programmer Preston White has collected over 11,200 types of seeds and plans for biosphere living in a Fukushima-irradiated future while friends Shane and others provide supportive help; Riley Cook spends his days working close to home and with the prepper society building underground structures.

Time and time again I’ve seen families buy all of their wheat, then buy all of another item, and so on. Don’t do that. It’s important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy several items, rather than a large quantity of one item. If something happens and you have to live on your present storage, you’ll fare much better having a one-month supply of a variety of items than a year’s supply of two to three items.

Make sure your emergency kit is stocked with the items on the checklist below. Most of the items are inexpensive and easy to find, and any one of them could save your life. Headed to the store? Download a printable version to take with you. Once you take a look at the basic items, consider what unique needs your family might have, such as supplies for pets, or seniors.